Fifa set to impose major reforms for the football agent industry by 2020

Though no final decision has been made, The Independent understands it is likely that agents who passed exams before the last changes in 2015 will be granted immunity in the new system

Fifa is reintroducing regulations to the football agent industry (AFP/Getty Images)

Fifa reforms which include the reintroduction of entrance examinations for football agents are likely to be imposed by 2020.

The step comes just three years after deregulation, which meant any person could act on behalf of a player regardless of previous qualifications.

Though no final decision has been made, The Independent understands it is likely that agents who passed exams before the last changes in 2015 will be granted immunity in the new system.

Recently-established agents, without the old qualifications, will be given two opportunities over a 12-month period to pass new tests.

If those tests are failed, contracts with clients will be void and players will be free to discuss new terms with fully qualified representatives.

It also means that the parents who registered as agents following deregulation will have to pass a new exam or risk losing direct control over their children.

The old system allowed room for an RCR (a Registered Close Relation) where a family member could act on behalf of a relative but not be paid. It is uncertain whether this arrangement will be put back in place.

Before 2015, there had been fewer than 500 registered agents in the UK and that figure in the last three years has risen to somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000.

Since a number of “landmark” Fifa changes were approved by the game’s governing body late in September, there has been a rush of communication between agents that do not have the relevant credentials and those that do, with latecomers to the industry attempting to align with those with longer-standing interests in an attempt to arrive at potential provisions over player influence.

The move by Fifa recognises that their 2015 measures have ended in failure. There had been an intention to eliminate some institutional corruption but the guidelines did not suit countries where the system was not altogether perfect but otherwise structurally sound.

New problems opened up, making it easier for banditry to flourish. Organisations without sporting backgrounds or necessarily sporting intentions have been able to target players and their families through inducements, appreciating the potential riches available should a player somehow succeed.

It is anticipated that Fifa will set up a new “clearing house” in the latest attempt to make transfer dealings more transparent.

A similar practice is already in place in England where domestic clubs only process agents’ fees through a central filtering hub run by the FA before money is distributed according to paperwork.